Angry Cowboy – Rodeo

I got a complaint from a friend in Chicago about my comparing Sarah Palin to Paula Prentiss in 1965. My sincere apologies to Ms. Prentiss. I’m sure she’s changed her hairstyle since 1965. I’m noticing even on the right wing TV shows that there are lots of smirking references to Palin being a “babe” and “hooters”. When I was growing up in the Assemblies of God, the old timers were still debating whether it was a sin for women to cut their hair or shave their legs.We may be headed for a remake of Anne Margaret’s Kitten with a Whip here.

Speaking of inappropriate sexuality. I may have mentioned that the downside of being a rodeo fan is the 40 minutes or so of wallowing in patriotism before the cowboys start getting their bones broken and the clowns make the inevitable bullshit jokes. They don’t just have 5 minutes or so of the queen tearing around the arena on horseback with old glory whipping in the wind; they always have some kind of John Wayne narration about the flag, which implies that only cowboys and Republicans respect the symbol and all others hate the military and freedom, burn flags regularly, spit on veterans and blah, blah blah. This year as an added treat they had a 13 year old local girl sing the Star Spangled Banner. She started off like a girl on a phone sex ad. Not Marilyn Monroe cutsey/sexy; more like Amy Winehouse “I’m gonna suck your dick” sexy. She couldn’t sing very well (neither can Amy Winehouse), but she put in lots of the little paradoodles that only Aretha and Dolly used to do but now even country singers seem to think are mandatory. She changed keys twice with no warning at all before she got to “the land of the freeeeeeeee”. By then, of course, the men in the audience didn’t give a shit. They were trying to catch their breath and lighting cigarettes.

I went by the local Democratic Club picnic yesterday and was shocked to find well over a dozen people there.